charra

C3H4A1R1R1A1

noun

An Indian.

Scrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncharra (plural charras)

plural charras

  1. South AfricaderogatoryethnicoffensiveslurAn Indian.

    The fact that you call a person a ‘coolie‘ or a ‘charra‘ or a ‘curry-muncher’ doesn't, naturally, stop you looking for bargains in his shop.

    1993, Jenny Hobbs, The Sweet-smelling Jasmine

Origin

Compare the less offensive char ou, which is said to derive from Hindi अचार (acār) (Urdu اچار (acār)) and Afrikaans ou. Indians in South Africa often sold spicy pickles; the combination would simply mean "pickle guy".

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

charra. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charra

MLA

“charra.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charra. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “charra,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charra.

Source: charra on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.